Why Is My Printer Connected but Not Printing? 9 Fixes That Work

Why is my printer connected but not printing? When your computer says the printer is connected but nothing comes out, the connection is usually fine. The print job is getting stuck somewhere between your computer and the printer. The most common causes are a stuck print queue, a crashed Print Spooler, the wrong printer selected as the default, or a printer port that points to an old network address.

The fixes below go from quickest to most involved. Most people are printing again by fix 4. Each one includes steps for Windows 11 and for Mac where they differ.

Written by the technicians at KeyBridge Web Solutions, an independent computer and printer support company. We're not affiliated with HP, Epson, Canon, Brother or any other printer maker.

First: find out which side the problem is on (1 minute)

Print a page from the printer itself, without the computer. On most printers it's in the printer's own menu under Settings, Reports or Tools. Look for "Print test page", "Printer status report" or "Network configuration page".

  • It prints: the printer works. The problem is on your computer. Go to fixes 1–7.
  • It doesn't print: the printer itself has a fault (paper, ink, a jam or hardware). Go to fix 8.

Keep that network configuration page if it printed. You'll need the printer's IP address from it in fix 6.

1. Clear the stuck print queue

One failed document can block everything sent after it. The printer looks connected, but every new job waits behind the stuck one.

Windows 11:

  1. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners and click your printer.
  2. Click Open print queue.
  3. Click the ⋯ menu (or the Printer menu in the older window) and choose Cancel all.
  4. In the same menu, make sure Pause printing and Use Printer Offline are not ticked.

Mac: open System Settings > Printers & Scanners, click your printer, then Printer Queue…. Delete the waiting jobs. If you see a Resume button, click it. A paused queue is the most common reason a Mac won't print to a connected printer.

2. Check that you're printing to the right printer

This catches more people than any other fix. Windows often keeps several copies of the same printer, such as "HP OfficeJet Pro" and "HP OfficeJet Pro (Copy 1)". Only one of them works. If you send a job to the dead copy, it sits in a queue forever while the real printer shows as connected.

  1. In Printers & scanners, look for duplicates, or entries with "Copy 1", "Fax" or "Microsoft Print to PDF" set as default.
  2. Turn off Let Windows manage my default printer (under Printer preferences on the same page).
  3. Click the correct printer and choose Set as default.
  4. Remove the extra copies that don't work.

On a Mac, check the Printer drop-down in the print window every time. Mac apps remember the last printer you used, which isn't always the one in front of you.

3. Restart everything, in the right order

Order matters, because the printer needs to rejoin the network before your computer looks for it:

  1. Turn off the computer, then the printer, then unplug the Wi-Fi router.
  2. Wait 30 seconds.
  3. Plug in the router and wait until its lights settle (1–2 minutes).
  4. Turn on the printer and wait until it shows Ready or its Wi-Fi light stops blinking.
  5. Turn on the computer and try printing.

4. Restart the Print Spooler (Windows)

The Print Spooler is the Windows service that hands documents to the printer. When it crashes, the printer still shows as connected but nothing reaches it. Restarting it fixes a large share of "connected but not printing" problems on Windows.

  1. Press Windows key + R, type services.msc and press Enter.
  2. Scroll to Print Spooler, right-click it and choose Stop.
  3. Open File Explorer, go to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS and delete everything in that folder. Click Continue if Windows asks for administrator permission. These are only stuck print jobs; deleting them is safe.
  4. Go back to Services, right-click Print Spooler and choose Start. Check that Startup type is set to Automatic.

On a Mac, the equivalent is Reset printing system. In Printers & Scanners, Control-click the printer list and choose it. This removes every printer, so you'll need to add yours again. Use it only after fixes 1–3.

5. Make sure the printer and computer are on the same network

"Connected" can mean the printer is connected to Wi-Fi, just not to the same network as your computer. Check for these:

  • Guest network: if your laptop joined the router's guest network, it can't see printers on the main network.
  • Wi-Fi extender or mesh: some extenders create a separate network name. Both devices must be on the same one.
  • 2.4 GHz vs 5 GHz: many home printers only support 2.4 GHz. They work with a 5 GHz computer on the same router, but not if the router gives the two bands different names and isolates them.
  • VPN: a work VPN or privacy VPN often blocks local devices. Disconnect it and try again.

6. Fix the printer port (the "it worked yesterday" problem)

Your router hands out IP addresses, and it can give the printer a new one after a power cut or router restart. Windows keeps sending jobs to the old address. The printer shows as installed and even connected, but the jobs go nowhere.

  1. Find the printer's current IP address on the network configuration page you printed earlier (for example, 192.168.1.47).
  2. In Printers & scanners, click your printer, then Printer properties, then the Ports tab.
  3. See which port is ticked. If it shows an IP address that doesn't match, click Add Port… > Standard TCP/IP Port and enter the current address.
  4. To stop it happening again, reserve the printer's address in your router's settings. Router menus usually call this "DHCP reservation" or "address reservation".

On a Mac, remove the printer and add it again with the IP tab in the Add Printer window, using the current address.

7. Reinstall the printer with the full driver

If the queue clears but jobs still vanish, the driver may be damaged, often after a Windows or macOS update.

  1. Remove the printer from Printers & scanners.
  2. Download the current full driver or software for your exact model from the printer maker's official website. Avoid "driver updater" tools and download sites.
  3. Install it, then add the printer again and print a test page.

8. If the printer itself won't print

If the printer's own test page failed, check the printer's screen or lights for an error. Look for:

  • Paper: an empty tray, the wrong paper size set, or a small torn scrap inside after a jam.
  • Ink or toner: on some models, one empty color cartridge stops all printing, including black. A cartridge that isn't recognized ("cartridge problem") does the same.
  • Open covers: a cartridge door or scanner lid that isn't fully closed.
  • Blank pages: pages come out but are blank or streaky. That's usually clogged print heads on inkjets. Run the printer's Clean print head tool once or twice, but no more, because it uses a lot of ink.

9. Printing from a phone? Check these too

iPhones print through AirPrint and Android phones through the built-in print service. Both need the phone on the same Wi-Fi network as the printer, with no VPN. If the printer doesn't appear in the phone's print menu, restart the printer and turn the phone's Wi-Fi off and on. Many printers also need their maker's app for scanning, but not for basic printing.

Brand-specific notes

  • HP: if your printer asks you to sign in to an HP account or the HP Smart app before printing, finish that setup on the computer. Installing the full driver also lets you print without the app. For HP+ accounts, cartridge errors after updates and the hidden "DIRECT" Wi-Fi network, see our guide: HP printer not printing? 7 HP-specific causes most guides miss.
  • Epson: check the Epson Status Monitor for an ink or maintenance-box warning. Some models stop printing when the waste-ink pad is full.
  • Brother: in the printer's network menu, check that WLAN Enable is on and that it shows the same network name as your computer.
  • Canon: if it scans but won't print, a stopped queue or a paused printer is the usual cause. Go back to fixes 1 and 4.

When to stop and call a technician

If you've worked through fixes 1–7 and the printer still shows as connected but won't print, the cause is usually deeper. It could be a driver conflict left by old printer software, a router setting that isolates devices, or a security product blocking printing. Those take longer to trace and are easy to make worse by trial and error.

Printer still connected but not printing?

KeyBridge's technicians fix printer queue, driver and network problems on Windows and Mac every day. Tell us what's happening and a technician will help you get printing again.

Get help with your printer →

Quick answers

Why does my printer say it's connected but print jobs just disappear?
Usually the jobs are going to a duplicate copy of the printer or to an old IP address. Check fixes 2 and 6.

Why does my printer scan but not print?
Scanning and printing use different software paths, so scanning working rules out the network. Look at the print queue (fix 1) and the Print Spooler (fix 4).

How do I reset my printer?
Start with a power reset: unplug the printer for 60 seconds. A full factory reset is in the printer's settings menu, but it erases its Wi-Fi settings, so you'll need to reconnect it to your network afterwards.

Is it worth repairing a printer that won't print?
If the printer's own test page prints, the printer is fine and the fix is a setting on your computer. That's almost always worth fixing. If the test page fails because of a hardware fault, compare the repair cost with the price of a new printer.

Is your printer showing offline rather than connected? See our step-by-step guide: Why Is My Printer Offline? 7 Proven Fixes.

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